


Coffee and Chaos

by muggle95



Series: Muggle's DCMK Fics [12]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: (post canon for both series), Banter, DCMK Secret Santa, DCMK Secret Santa 2019, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Ending, Heiji is present but he doesn't get enough screentime for a character tag, Identity Porn, Kaito's pure-fanon hair-dying habit, M/M, Post-Canon, allusions to canon-finishing backstory (that hasn't been written yet), allusions to important platonic relationships, and even that is mostly done fondly, but no one friendship gets enough focus to qualify for a proper relationship tag, date crashing, friendly teasing, is it a coffeeshop au when it's canon compliant they're just all at a coffeeshop?, it's like party crashing but more personal, on that note, pure fluff, the worst thing to happen in this fic is some name-calling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:56:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21997873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muggle95/pseuds/muggle95
Summary: Saguru just wanted to have a peaceful date with his boyfriend. But their friends crashed the date, and he has too many people's secrets to protect. Why is everything so complicated?
Relationships: Hakuba Saguru/Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan
Series: Muggle's DCMK Fics [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901863
Comments: 5
Kudos: 95





	Coffee and Chaos

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sixclawsdragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sixclawsdragon/gifts).



> a Secret Santa gift for [@hattoriandkudo](https://hattoriandkudo.tumblr.com/) on tumblr
> 
> I see you like the Gosho boys as much as I do! Since your preference was "any combination as ships or gen" I went with the (unfortunately) rare ship SaguShin, and pulled all four of them together for shenanigans. Unfortunately, to finish on time, Heiji's screentime got majorly cut, but he's still around enough to cause chaos with the rest of them.
> 
> Regardless, there's plenty of date-crashing and secret-keeping shenanigans between the boys. I hope you enjoy. ^_^
> 
> ...  
> Many many thanks to [@copperscales](https://copperscales.tumblr.com/) on tumblr for keeping me on track and giving coherent feedback as I wrote, and to all the friends who helped me hack my executive dysfunction brain back to motivated when I asked for help.

Saguru walked into the coffeeshop, Kuroba still bounding along annoying beside him. He scanned the room for Shinichi, feeling the heat of shame rise in his face for having allowed an uninvited guest to tag along for their date.

Saguru didn't immediately find his boyfriend, so he slid into a booth with a good view of the door, and obstinately refused to slide over to the window seat despite Kuroba's pout. Moments later, Kuroba disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared in the window seat, still pouting.

Saguru rolled his eyes. "You're lucky I'm not finding another table since you're insisting on sitting at this one.

"Ah-ah, Haku-bastard, you can't just allude to fun plans after school and then insist no one come along. You were getting better about being a spoilsport"

"I'm here to meet my  _ boyfriend _ !" Saguru admitted, frustrated. "Suffering through being a third wheel, just to annoy me further, surely isn't worth it!"

"Your  _ boyfriend _ ?," Kuroba repeated, sounding delightedly mischievous. "What, did you find someone who's a bigger Holmes nerd than you are?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Saguru retorted stiffly, trying not to let the teasing bother him. "Sometimes Holmes is all we talk about. If that bothers you, please remember that  _ I didn't invite you _ . To our  _ date _ . And you can leave at any time."

"No, this sounds like fun," Kuroba decided aloud, settling in more comfortably to the booth. "I've got to meet this person. If even Ahou-ko isn't good enough for you, I'm curious to see who is."

The bell over the door jingled. Saguru looked up hopefully and was glad to meet Shinichi’s eyes as he came in the door. But instead of eager, Shinichi looked sheepish, much like Saguru felt.

What...?

Then Saguru noticed Hattori following close behind, jaw set in his infuriating, stubborn, way.

Ah. Both Saguru and his boyfriend were suffering from unwanted tagalongs. At least that made Saguru’s inability to keep Kuroba away a less-embarrassing failure.

Still, Saguru felt tension building in the back of his neck at the thought of dealing with both Kuroba and Hattori at the same time.

Saguru stood "Shinichi-kun!" They smiled at each other. "I have to apologize for my classmate's rudeness; I couldn't prevent him from tagging along." Kuroba rolled his eyes in protest, but didn't say anything. Saguru supposed Kuroba had been called worse things than rude, especially as Kid.

Shinichi chuckled, good naturedly. "I seem to have the same problem today. I apologize for bringing my rude friend, who is visiting without warning, and wouldn't stay at my house without me.

Hattori began to protest, verbally, but Shinichi continued. "I believe you two have met."

"We have," Saguru said. Shinichi had been there too, as Conan, he just wasn't saying so. Saguru knew that Hattori also knew that Conan had always been Shinichi, but if Shinichi wasn't acknowledging that today, Saguru would follow his lead.

"Let me introduce you both to-" Saguru began, politely.

"Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinaire," Kuroba interrupted, bowing with a flourish. As he straightened up, two doves burst out of apparently nowhere (his sleeves) and circled him in opposite directions before settling on his shoulders.

"-my classmate, Kuroba-kun," Saguru finished, with a sigh. "Kuroba-kun, this is Kudou Shinichi-kun, my boyfriend, and his friend Hattori-kun. They're both detectives."

"And Holmes nerds," Kuroba speculated, with none of the trepidation Saguru had hoped to inspire. "I wish I could say it's nice to meet you, but one detective is more than enough for me."

"Oi, I'm not a Holmes nerd! That's him!" Hattori protested, gesturing at Shinichi. "Ellery Queen is  _ so _ much better."

Shinichi rolled his eyes at Hattori and nodded politely at Kuroba, though his eyes lingered a little too long, tracing Kuroba's face. Saguru recognized the light of recognition in his eyes, and a badly-hidden smirk.

Before he could focus on that, though, Hattori loudly blurted out, "Wait, Kaito-kun? Are you sure that isn't  _ Kaitou _ -kun? Eh, Ki-"

Shinichi elbowed Hattori, cutting him off even before Kuroba and his quick wit could say anything. "What, just because he looks like me? As I recall, you also imitated me convincingly multiple times when I was  _ away _ . Should I start accusing  _ you _ of being Kaitou Kid?"

"I... What... That's not..." Hattori spluttered.

"Not the same?" Shinichi challenged. "Accusations without proof are dangerous, and I can actually  _ prove _ you pretended to be me, unlike Kuroba-kun." He made brief eye contact with Kuroba, then turned smoothly to Saguru. "Did you have seats already?" he asked, the edge abruptly gone from his voice

Saguru glanced back at the booth he and Kuroba had vacated when the others arrived. It was still free. "Right here." He led the group the three steps back to the table, and slid all the way in to the window seat Kuroba had previously claimed, leaving Shinichi the spot with a good view of the door. Shinichi flashed him a grateful smile as he slid into the booth. Saguru was familiar with Shinichi's unfortunately justified paranoid instincts, and did what he could to soothe them.

Kuroba took the other window seat, grumbling about overeager detectives. Hattori reluctantly took the seat across from Shinichi, sneaking suspicious looks at Kuroba.

Hattori broke the awkward silence before it had even really fallen. "Hey, Kuroba-kun. What do you mean one detective is more than enough? Wha'd'you have against detectives?"

"Detectives are all critics!" Kuroba argued hotly. "You don't stop to appreciate the magic, you just want to  _ deduce _ how it's done and then critique it!"

"Your usual?" Shinichi muttered in Saguru's direction as their friends descended into bickering.

"Yes, thank you," Saguru agreed.

Shinichi got up from the table to get in line. Neither of the others appeared to notice. Saguru sat back, just watching, until Hattori finally looked up. "Oi! Where'd Kudou go?"

"To get drinks." Saguru answered, not bothering to disguise his amusement. "I imagine you'll want to order your own." He looked over at the counter. Three people were already in line behind Shinichi.

Hattori got up, grumbling, and strode quickly to being in line, ignoring Kuroba frowning after him, irritated at being ignored.

Kuroba turned to Saguru briefly. "He'll come around. As will Kudou-kun. If he doesn't, you deserve better: someone who will recognize greatness - in me and in you." 

And with that backhanded encouraging statement, Kuroba also got up, bounding across to get in line behind Hattori, where they appeared to start arguing again.

Saguru sighed. He understood now the danger (to Kuroba's life) in accusing Kuroba directly of being Kid. Shinichi had shut that down pretty quickly, but it was no wonder Kuroba was being pricklier than usual where Hattori was concerned. Hopefully that didn't turn into a bigger mess.

He didn't have long enough to slip into an anxiety spiral before Shinichi returned, sliding a steaming cup down the table as he sat down. Saguru inhaled deeply, letting the familiar scent of tea and cloves calm him, before taking a grateful sip. "Thank you, Shinichi-kun."

"You're welcome," Shinichi murmured, taking a sip of his own coffee, then glancing up at the others. "Hmm. Well they don't look ready to kill each other anymore," he observed.

Saguru followed his gaze. The two were standing by the pickup counter. Sure enough, Hattori's posture had loosened somewhat, and Kuroba looked delighted about something. Kuroba met his eyes and grinned wickedly, showing too many teeth. Saguru decided he didn't want to know. "I suppose that's a good thing," he said. He took another long drink of his tea, then took a breath and exhaled slowly, trying to let go of the stresses that were building.

Shinichi watched him with a sympathetic smile, but when Saguru met his eyes, Shinichi's cheeks turned pink and he turned away.

Moments later, Hattori slid into the booth across from Shinichi.

"So you and Kuroba-kun are friends now?" Shinichi asked, an amused edge to his voice.

"Not really," Hattori grumbled.

Kuroba appeared in his own seat in another puff of smoke. "Hattori-kun and I were bonding over how fun it is to annoy Haku-bastard!" he explained proudly.

Saguru sighed. He and Kuroba had come to an understanding since Kuroba had unmistakably shown up to school with Kid's injuries, but unfortunately part of that understanding was that Kuroba continued to publically harass Saguru, with pranks and teasing, as though nothing had changed, "to avoid drawing attention." Sometimes it felt like Kuroba had decided to prank him more often, but perhaps it was just that the personalized attention hurt more from a friend than from someone he assumed was a bully. Even if he expected it.

Hattori made a face like he had bitten into a lemon, but didn't deny it. "Can we talk," he asked instead, grabbing Shinichi's wrist and pulling him away from the table before Shinichi could answer. Shinichi only just managed to grab his drink in time to take it with him.

Saguru watched with narrowed eyes as Hattori dragged Shinichi away for a whispered conversation near the counter. It was hardly subtle but it gave him an opportunity to ask Kuroba an important question.

“Does Hattori-kun  _ know _ , or was he just guessing?” Saguru asked quietly, leaving the subject – that Kuroba was Kaitou Kid – unspoken, just in case.He had confirmed Kid’s identity as his classmate shortly after Saguru and "Conan" had rescued Kid in the middle of taking down a large criminal organization (or at least, they had arrested several of the more dangerous members) but it was likely Kid still had enemies, whether the remnants of that organization, or someone else.

“I can’t read his mind,” Kuroba grumped, waving a hand limply to indicate his (probably fake) lack of concern. “Does it matter if he can’t prove it?”

Saguru bit his cheek to avoid snapping back. Kuroba could be insufferable when he decided not to answer a question. Saguru would normally push harder, trying to out-stubborn him, but right now they had limited time. Plus, he had a similarly important question to follow up with. “What about Shinichi-kun? He shut down the idea almost  _ too _ fast, when Hattori guessed.”

Kuroba looked across at Shinichi for a long moment, though Shinichi didn’t look up from his own whispered discussion with Hattori. “I have never met Kudou-kun before today,” he finally answered, “on  _ or _ off stage. He wouldn't have any evidence either, even if he suspected," Kuroba stated confidently, matching Saguru's soft tone and omission of Kid.

Kuroba met Saguru’s eyes, his entire face communicating openness and clear communication. Honesty. 

So why didn’t Saguru believe him?

Taking that statement at face value, Kuroba hadn’t met Shinichi, neither as himself nor as Kid. That complicated things, especially with Hattori’s half-accusation earlier. Even though Conan and Kid had cooperated at that raid, there was no telling if Shinichi would continue to respect their previous truce or if he would be determined to take down Kid now that they were back to “normal” stakes. Even though Kuroba was no longer stealing things as Kid, there was still a chance Shinichi would arrest Kid given the opportunity and sufficient evidence. Especially since he still hadn't returned his latest conquest - a nameless, startlingly large, naturally black pearl from Suzuki Jirokichi's private collection. Saguru kind of understood why Kid hadn't returned it, and even though he didn't quite believe the legend Kuroba had explained, he at least believed that if gang members believed it, they might be willing to kill over that gem. Plus, the pearl _had_ displayed an inexplicably crimson sheen under the moonlight, so Saguru was willing to wait to decide on the truth of the legend.

Saguru knew that Conan had been at many heists, and was one of the few besides Saguru who could regularly keep up with the thief, but he couldn’t just ask if  _ Conan _ knew Kid’s identity or if Shinichi was also guessing. He couldn’t out Shinichi like that. 

Saguru frowned at Kuroba’s almost certainly affected nonchalance. There were too many secrets at the table. This was supposed to be a date! A time to relax! Not a time for obnoxious friends to be pests and complicate what they could and couldn’t talk about!

He glanced up at the others again. Hattori was now looking unimpressed, rather than looking as on-edge as he had before.

"Hey, don't fret," Kuroba chided. "Hattori-kun was complaining earlier about how Kudou-kun genuinely likes you so much he won't hear any of Hattori-kun's complaints."

"Thanks?" Saguru asked. It sounded like a reassurance but mixed with Hattori's bad opinion of him, it wasn't particularly reassuring. "I do understand that Shinichi-kun likes me," he muttered, "I don't think he'd be here if he didn't." Shinichi's opinion wasn't what he was worried about right now anyway. 

"Why did you shut me down over the Kid thing?" Hattori hissed, once they were far enough away not to be overheard. "You can't deny it. He looks just like you, he's a magician, and he hates detectives!"

“I just want to have more evidence than ‘he looks like me’ before I start making wild accusations,” Shinichi countered, despite having come to the same conclusion with the same evidence. (He had done so many times before, but generally at events in which Kid was expected to appear, and Shinichi was present as Conan, which were two pieces of additional evidence that were totally not what he was railing against today.) Hattori raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“…Also the accusation would upset Saguru-kun. Kuroba-kun is his friend, and he really doesn’t like Kid.” Saguru hadn't expressed his resentment as much since the raid where they'd cooperated in taking down the Black Organization, and had helped Kid along the way, but Kid hadn't returned that pearl yet, and while Shinichi understood not always making the most law-abiding decision while murderous criminals were after you, he suspected Saguru might be more upset than usual about the much-delayed return. "I didn't come on a date just to upset my boyfriend. It's something we can bring up later." 

Hattori sighed. “Whatever. But you think so too.”

“I do,” Shinichi admitted. “But this was  _ supposed _ to be a date. One-on-one. I told you not to invite yourself along!”

“I still wasn’t dealing with your neechan pestering me about when I’m going to finally ask Kazuha out” Hattori retorted. “Who does she think she is, meddling in our relationship? Kazuha's my best friend, besides you, and I'm not asking you out either!”

Shinichi snorted. "If you did want to ask me out: sorry, I'm taken. You should've spoken up sooner," he teased.

Hattori rolled his eyes, but a smile was tugging at his lips. "You know what I mean!"

Shinichi did know what he meant. He felt similarly about Ran. They were so close, so important to each other, but romance wasn't quite right for them. “Just don’t start anything,” he concluded more seriously, glancing back at the table. Saguru and Kuroba were having some sort of conversation in their absence. Saguru looked intent about something, and Kuroba looked bored, or like he was trying to change the subject. He wondered what that was about and if Saguru suspected Kuroba was Kid after all. It would be easier if they could all just talk freely, but for both Shinichi and Kid, that could be dangerous. Some secrets weren’t for just anyone to hear.

“C’mon,” Shinichi instructed, jerking his head back towards the other table. “We’re going in circles debating this. It’s not worth it.

Hattori sighed, and followed Shinichi back to the table, where they each slid back into their spots unceremoniously.

“Have a good chat?” Saguru asked, aiming the question at both of them, and Shinichi could only just hear the tension in his voice because he knew to listen for it.

Shinichi shrugged and nodded. It was productive enough.

Hattori ignored the question, choosing instead to frown into his mocha and take a long sip.

"So this is your classmate Kuroba-kun," Shinichi said, trying to restart the awkward conversation. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Only bad things I hope," Kuroba said with a bright grin. "Hakuba is too boring and doesn't appreciate _any_ of my magic genius."

Shinichi had actually heard about their tentative friendship, and Kuroba's tendency towards pranks. Saguru valued Kuroba's friendship disproportionately much compared to how much he complained about Kuroba. Then again, Shinichi probably complained that much about Sonoko, and she about him, but she and Ran were both essential pillars of his childhood, and he wouldn't give up their friendship for anything.

"Oh, I've heard plenty, good  _ and _ bad" Shinichi agreed with a grin."

Conversation continued, in fits and starts, until finally Hattori and Kuroba were arguing about something to do with aikido, which neither of them studied.

"Shinichi, can I talk to you for a minute?" Saguru asked, foregoing subtlety as blatantly as Hattori had. 

A half-smile tugged at the edges of Shinichi's mouth as he stood back up, picking up his coffee. "Yeah, all right." They found their way halfway to the counter, which was approximately where Hattori had dragged Shinichi to argue about whatever. This was the furthest they could be from the others at their table without approaching another occupied table. 

"What is it?" Shinichi asked, reading Saguru's stress easily from his face.

"Does Kuroba-kun know Conan?" Saguru got right to the point. He couldn't ask if Kid knew about Conan. Shinichi had just brushed off the idea that Kuroba was Kid, and to ask would be to imply that Kid was relevant right now. 

Shinichi frowned in thought for a moment too long, and looked over at the others, unknowingly mirroring Kuroba's reaction, before answering. "I have never met Kuroba-kun before today. I doubt Conan-kun has either."

"That limits what we can say," Saguru observed, neutrally. "How specific are we being if we're asked how we met?

Shinichi shrugged. "We met at a gathering of detectives. It's the truth, and we don't have to specify which one. I know you've been to several."

Saguru hummed in agreement. "Minimal detail as usual then?" Kid had been at the Sunset Manor too, so if Shinichi didn't want Kuroba to connect him with Conan, they ought to avoid detail more urgently than usual. But Saguru couldn't say anything without identifying Kid, and admitting that he wasn't particularly motivated to get his classmate arrested. In the police force, that was as good as sedition. 

"Yeah," Shinichi agreed, looking dissatisfied. He met Saguru's eyes, expression softening. "Hey. I'm sorry Hattori crashed our date. I know he's an ass to you more often than not."

Saguru caught Shinichi's hand, and couldn't help but grin at the blush that spread across Shinichi's cheeks. "Honestly, I'm glad he showed up today when our date was already interrupted by Kuroba's presence. At least it's not two separate dates our friends are crashing, right?" He itched to brush Shinichi's hair out of his eyes, but he was all too aware that they were not only in public, but in the middle of the coffeeshop. Japan's norms were for couples to be more private than Saguru's own, more English, sensibilities allowed for. "We'll have other dates without them. Nothing is ruined."

"You're right," Shinichi agreed. "At least Hattori insisted on coming the same day Kuroba-kun did. I don't have to ask your forgiveness if you're apologizing for the same thing, right?" he asked, grinning.

"I don't think that logic is sound," Saguru retorted, faux-serious, "but I'll let it go for now."

Shinichi grinned. "Only for now? You're not going to treat me to a lecture on the finer points of avoiding logical fallacies in English and in Japanese?"

Saguru grinned back, "but you like it when I do. If I lecture you when you're deliberately winding me up, you'll never stop."

They turned back to stroll, slower than necessary, back to the booth where the others were.

"Oof. What do you think Hattori did?" Shinichi asked. Hattori's hair was magenta, although he didn't seem to have noticed. Hattori looked cross, and Kuroba was facing the window, arms crossed, looking insulted.

"There's no telling, honestly," Saguru admitted. "Sometimes he dyes people's hair when he's bored. But such a bright color probably means Hattori-kun upset him somehow."

"At least they're annoying each other as well as annoying us?" Shinichi mused. Saguru grinned. He wouldn't wish true harm on his friend, but it was amusing payback to see that Hattori was annoying him too.

"What's the issue now?" Saguru asked when he got to the table. He deliberately did not mention Hattori's hair, wondering how long it would take him to notice, if he hadn't already. It seemed likely he hadn't, since Hattori wasn't eyeing them suspiciously when neither Saguru nor Shinichi had said anything about it.

"He called you a bad detective," Kuroba complained. "'Stuck up', I agree with, but insulting your abilities crosses a line."

"I... appreciate the defense of my skills," Saguru commented dryly. "Although I like to think I can defend myself." Shinichi still wasn't saying anything. Maybe Saguru should throw Hattori a bone. "Don't you think pink was a bit overkill though?" he mused, with an appraising look at Hattori.

There it was. Hattori finally noticed something was up, and started twisting, trying to find the implied pink patch on his clothes. He even took his cap off and turned it over, before running a hand through his hair, pulling his bangs forward until he could see them. "How the hell?" he exclaimed, peering at the strands. "Kuroba-kun what the hell did you do?"

Kuroba grinned wickedly. "I punished you for insulting Haku-bastard," he explained. "Only friends get to tease him like that."

Still swearing, Hattori stormed off in the direction of the bathroom. Shinichi sighed. Kuroba looked like the cat that got the cream.

"Seriously, was that necessary?" Saguru asked.

"Of course," Kuroba answered, unbothered. "I mean it. Only Ahou-ko and I get to tease you. And I suppose your Kudou-kun can as well," he decided with an appraising nod. "But he's on thin ice.

"...Thanks." Shinichi did not look enthused by this blessing.

"So," Kuroba laced his fingers and settled his chin on his hands. "How did you two meet?"

They exchanged a glance. "At a gathering of detectives," Saguru answered. "You shouldn't be surprised. I've been called to several" 

"We were there to investigate an old murder," Shinichi agreed, sounding ready to elaborate. Saguru nudged him in a silent plea to shut up. Kid had been at the Sunset Manor too, and if Shinichi wanted to keep his time as Conan a secret, he shouldn't share too many more details.

Shinichi shot him an irritated glance, but kept explaining. "And then of course, there was another murder while we were there, that we had to solve." Kuroba was trying to look like he was listening intently, but Saguru recognized his amusement, presumably recognizing the story.

"Actually that happened at several of our early meetings," Shinichi reflected. "We gathered each time just because people called for several detectives, but you don't exactly forget someone you solved a fresh mystery with." He grinned at Saguru, who relaxed a bit. It was true that the Detective Koushien had gone the same way. Conan had been at that one too, not Shinichi, but Kid hadn't been there. With Shinichi implying that an old-investigation-turned-new-investigation was a much more common occurrence than it was, perhaps Kid wouldn't put the pieces together and recognize Conan in these stories. As long as Shinichi didn't start dropping other names, it should be fine. Hopefully.

"You didn't meet while chasing Kid-sama?" Kuroba asked, sounding perfectly innocent and a bit curious. Saguru scowled at him. Did he suspect about Conan? He knew perfectly well that Shinichi had never been in the crowd.

"I don't think I've been to a Kid heist since... the clock tower?" Shinichi answered. Kuroba's eyes narrowed briefly in surprise, before snapping back to wide-eyed "innocence". "I didn't meet anyone during that heist. I was just supposed to be learning protocols in a helicopter that night, but I gave some advice over the radio..." He trailed off. "Actually, I didn't figure out it was a Kid heist until much later. I hadn't heard of him yet at that point."

By his reaction, Kuroba hadn't realized it was Shinichi. Saguru grinned. They had only figured it out while exchanging stories of past cases because Saguru was so familiar with Kid's many stunts. But he recovered quickly "Not at a heist then. You should try attending together. They're always incredible to watch."

"You think so because Kid is your idol," Saguru countered, repeating the fib Kuroba repeatedly told their class.

Kuroba stuck his nose in the air. "That doesn't mean he's not extremely talented, it just means you don't appreciate him enough." He returned to a normal posture.

"So what sorts of dates have you been on?" Kuroba prodded, appearing delighted to be keeping them both on edge.

Saguru started fumbling his way around an answer, but Shinichi couldn't bring himself to focus on the half-truths. Having to pick their words so carefully was exhausting. Shinichi was sure everyone at the table had known him as Conan, but he and Saguru couldn't even talk about how they met in full detail, because they also weren't acknowledging that Kuroba was Kid, and if Saguru didn't know, Shinichi didn't want to pop that bubble for him.

Making a decision, Shinichi set his empty coffee cup down, and nudged it towards Saguru.

Saguru caught on easily. "More of the same?"

"Please," Shinichi agreed. "My usual, thank you."

"Let me up then," Saguru requested.

Shinichi stood up, out of the way, to let his boyfriend out. Saguru shuffled out of the booth, taking both his cup and Shinichi's empty with him. Saguru drained his cup as he walked. He dropped both in the trash before getting in line at the counter again.

Kuroba shuffled towards the aisle. "Yeah, great idea."

"Hold on a minute please, Kuroba-kun," Shinichi muttered, just loud enough for Kid to hear, as he sat back down.

Kuroba frowned back at him, but quit moving. "What?"

"Does Saguru-kun know you're Kid?" Shinichi asked, even quieter.

Kuroba made a face, "I don't know what you're talking about." He moved as if to stand up again.

"Because Saguru-kun, and Hattori, and Kid-san all knew me when I wore glasses, and it would be much easier if we could all speak freely," Shinichi continued, quickly, before Kuroba could run off. "We can't do that if  _ I _ haven't met  _ you _ before." Hopefully that wasn't too cryptic, and Kid understood. Conan and Kid knew each other, but Shinichi and Kuroba did not. "Kid kept my identity safe when my life was on the line; I'm not going to go out of my way to get him arrested. It would be rude."

Kid frowned at him, body language shifting to something far more serious. "What about Hattori-kun?"

"He'll follow my lead on leaving you alone for today," Shinichi stated, more confidently than he felt. Hattori was occasionally unpredictable, and he had been terrible about calling Conan by the right name, in general. "And I'll be able to convince him that your situation is as tenuous as mine, and that Kid isn't worth arresting." Of that, he was certain.

Kid studied Shinichi's face seriously for another long moment. "Hakuba-kun knows..." he finally admitted, "that Kid-sama doesn't plan to return that pearl."

The challenging stare Shinichi found himself pinned with was a test. "As long as Kid doesn't steal anything else in front of me," he answered carefully, "I don't have any reason to arrest him." If Saguru wasn't upset about that, Shinichi trusted him to have good reason. They could discuss it later.

Kid raised his eyebrows but gave a small, approving nod. Abruptly, his demeanor shifted back to a casual sprawl, a hint of a smirk on his face.

Kuroba sprang up, departing in the direction of the counter, just as Saguru returned with a pair of steaming drinks. Shinichi stood up to let him in, and Saguru left Shinichi's cup at his place as he slid past.

"What was all of that?" Saguru asked, as Shinichi sat back down.

"Establishing that everyone here knew me as Conan," Shinichi answered under his breath, aware of Hattori, who was also almost back to the table, hair visibly wet, but no less pink. "And something about how a particular pearl may never be returned."

"Ah." Shinichi could see Saguru turning that over in his mind, probably wondering how Shinichi had convinced Kid to open up. Was it that surprising? He had accepted the idea to help Kid, and accept his help in return, with no hesitations when they'd been in the middle of taking down Gin and the others. (He had hesitated much more on other things. Like identifying Vermouth as an agent. He'd hesitated so long that she had talked her way out of trouble, before promptly disappearing. He wasn't sure whether he felt guilty about that or not.) Maybe that hadn't been as obvious as he'd thought.

"Well, that makes things simpler," Saguru concluded, just as Hattori sat down.

"What makes things simpler?" Hattori asked, irritably.

Shinichi met Saguru's eyes. Saguru seemed to be asking what Hattori actually knew, so it was up to Shinichi to answer. 

"Did you know that Kaitou Kid protected my cousin Conan's identity?" Shinichi asked instead of answering. "And that Conan-kun and I are determined to return the favor?"

Hattori took a moment to puzzle that out. "Okay, so, we like the guy," he concluded. "Are you admitting I was right earlier?" He looked pointedly at Kuroba, bouncing impatiently at the pickup counter.

Shinichi hesitated. Everyone at the table needed plausible deniability, which they wouldn't have if he said yes.

"All three of you knew me when I wore glasses," he said instead. "We can quit dodging the questions of how we all met."

"Oh, like how I met you the first time I came looking to investigate your disappearance, and didn't realize it until the second time when I had to enter that stupid Holmes competition to find you?"

Shinchi felt the corners of his mouth twitching despite his best efforts to remain stoic. That was an unfortunately accurate description. "Like that yes," he agreed. "Saguru and I met at the Sunset Mansion gathering, ages ago." Kuroba's eyes sparkled in recognition. Shinichi wasn't sure when he had returned to his seat, with his fresh hot chocolate, but there he was again. "I believe Kaitou Kid was there too," he added, watching for Kuroba's reaction. Kuroba just smirked.

Hattori caught that reaction too. He met Shinichi's eyes with a quirk of his eyebrows, probably trying to ask about Saguru's lack of reaction. Shinichi grinned back and mouthed ' _ later _ ' at him.

Hattori nodded, and to Shinichi's relief, joined them all in dancing around the subject of Kid, without making any more accusations.

Conversation continued, more smoothly this time, and when the bickering arose, it was starting to sound more like siblings fighting than like the hatred between fellow murder suspects.

Shinichi let himself relax, and his hand found Saguru's under the table. It might be a good thing that their friends had shown up. Now they knew they could all get along.

**Author's Note:**

> lol I thought this would be like 1k words when I first scribbled out my outline. Why do I always underestimate my content


End file.
